Vinopolis Newsletter – Friday 3-22-24

 In This Newsletter:

Special Arrivals
La Rioja Alta
New Arrivals
Billecarte-Salmon, Two Hands, Olga Raffault, Bergstrom, Kelley Fox, and more!
Vietti Pre-Sale Opportunity
2020 Barolos coming soon… reserve yours today!

Close-Out Sales
Save on wines from Daniel Landi, Karlsmuhle, Vieux Telepraoh, and more
Collector’s Corner
The creme de la creme of collectables– all scoring 97 points or higher

Special Arrivals

 
La Rioja Alta.
 


La Rioja Alta S.A. Gran Reserva 904, Rioja DOCa, Spain 2015 750ml $89 special, 6 bottles available
James Suckling 97 Points “A perfumed nose of plums, mulberries, mushrooms, caramel, sweet tobacco and sweet spices. Full-bodied with velvety, fine tannins and lively acidity. Balanced and supple with a creamy texture. Delicate and precise with a long, polished finish. 90% tempranillo and 10% graciano.
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Vietti: Landmark Piedmont Producer 3-21-24

On Sale Now!
 
Vietti is one of the benchmark producers in Barolo—a name that belongs alongside Conterno, Mascarello, and Gaja in the short-list for the greatest in the region. Their style can be described as neo-classical. The wines aren’t ultra-traditional, but they do combine what the former owners and winemakers, Luca Currado and Elena Penna, value most about traditional wines of the Piedmont with modern cellar practices. (A note about Currado and Penna: they sold the estate in 2016, but stayed on until 2023 to assist with the transition. All of our wines on offer were made by them, except for the Moscato.) The result is a set of wines that show tons of Nebbiolo character and distinct terroir signatures, but with a certain elegance that’s all Vietti.
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Cornas 3-20-24

On Sale Now
 
Among the excellent villages producing Syrah wines in the Northern Rhone, Cornas provides the goldilocks of reds: not as rustic as Crozes, not as polished as Hermitage, and not as elegant as Côte Rôtie, but instead a glorious middle-ground between all three.
 
Here we find one of our favorite Syrah producers: Domaine Durand. The brothers Eric and Joël craft wines in a sweet spot, combining elegance, drinkability, and age-worthiness. Delivering ripe fruit, savory minerality and lifted aromatics, the meticulous work by these brothers is evident from first pour. Never hyper glossy or overly rustic, these epitomize Cornas in all the ways we love.
 
The estate owns select parcels throughout Cornas. The plots are steeply terraced and worked exclusively by hand.
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Willi and Fritz Haag 3-19-24

On Sale Now
 
The Haag family has called the town of Brauneberg in the Middle Mosel region of Germany home for over 500 years. Needless to say, there’s quite a few in the area and more than one involved in winemaking.
 
Our sale focuses on two such estate, both members of the VDP: Fritz Haag and Willi Haag. Fritz is one of the most highly regarded producers in the region, on par with JJ Prum and Willi Schaefer. Oliver Haag runs the estate, having taken over in 2005 after working for such luminaries as Donnhoff and Karthauserhof. His wines are some of the most difficult to find given the high local demand. We’re pleased as punch to offer what little makes it stateside, including the incredibly rare TBA (a hypercar of a wine).
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Elvio Cogno: Benchmark Barolo 3-18-24

On Sale Now!
 
“Of the many great contributions made by the winemaking team at Elvio Cogno, perhaps the greatest is the importance they brought to the Ravera cru of Novello. Little-known before their efforts, this vineyard has risen in high regard in recent years and continues to show impressive potential.” -Monica Larner, Wine Advocate
 
Elvio Cogno put the Ravera cru on the map. Born and raised in Novello, the village associated with the famous vineyard, Elvio comes from a long line of grape growers in the region but was the first to turn the dream of winemaking into a reality. For years, he collaborated with Marcarini (including crafting the legendary 1964 vintage from the Brunate vineyard, one of the first Barolos released as a single vineyard).
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